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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · cap · dip · spell · band · prune · swing · club

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a music group
  4. cap — of ice
  5. mine — for digging
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. swing — to play on
  8. spell — magic
  9. club — a group
  10. band — a ring
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cap — a lid
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cap — a hat
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. spell — letters
  22. club — for dancing
  23. spell — a short time
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com